It's really not. Several times better than cow milk in all metrics and all plant milks have tradeoffs. Almonds use more water but have a lower carbon footprint than many other plant milk plants, particularly given how they're grown and what crops they tend to displace. They also offer far more protein than the lowest-impact plant milk, oat milk, so it's not really a fair comparison nutritionally.
There's fat in the almonds already! I add a little soy lecithin so that it doesn't get all gritty and gross.
Also you have to blend the crap out of it, just a heads up. I have a gifted, refurbished Vitamix and it really helps. A mortar and pestle would probably be a good substitute (for the pulp) tho.
Most people drinking dairy alternatives are getting enough protein without the dairy alternative though. I was obviously not including dairy which is objectively the worst. The problem with almond is that almonds are a very thirsty crop (ONE almond, like a single nut, takes 3 gallons of water to produce IIRC) and they are often grown in areas that are extremely water-scarce or approaching it rapidly. This is much worse for the environment than greenhouse emissions at this point given the systems they put stress on (80-85% of almond milk comes from California)
tbh I'm having a terrible time finding good stats comparing water use, now. The oft-cited one from 2018 seems to not have any data on almonds at all? I'm very confused.
Yeah I am a climatologist so I feel you on finding sources being annoying in regards to specific industry. The ones I’m seeing are showing almonds alone account for 5% of California’s yearly water usage
It's really not. Several times better than cow milk in all metrics and all plant milks have tradeoffs. Almonds use more water but have a lower carbon footprint than many other plant milk plants, particularly given how they're grown and what crops they tend to displace. They also offer far more protein than the lowest-impact plant milk, oat milk, so it's not really a fair comparison nutritionally.
where do you find almond milk that has even a crumb of protein in it
The kind I make at home where I emulsify some of the pulp back in. Something like 4 grams of protein per serving.
Also that pulp gets used in processing facilities, it goes into other stuff / makes almond flour, etc. I use it for cookies lol.
oooo! so by emulsify do you mean just the process of adding back in slowly, or does it also imply you need to add fat? That's cool, I'll have to try.
There's fat in the almonds already! I add a little soy lecithin so that it doesn't get all gritty and gross.
Also you have to blend the crap out of it, just a heads up. I have a gifted, refurbished Vitamix and it really helps. A mortar and pestle would probably be a good substitute (for the pulp) tho.
Most people drinking dairy alternatives are getting enough protein without the dairy alternative though. I was obviously not including dairy which is objectively the worst. The problem with almond is that almonds are a very thirsty crop (ONE almond, like a single nut, takes 3 gallons of water to produce IIRC) and they are often grown in areas that are extremely water-scarce or approaching it rapidly. This is much worse for the environment than greenhouse emissions at this point given the systems they put stress on (80-85% of almond milk comes from California)
tbh I'm having a terrible time finding good stats comparing water use, now. The oft-cited one from 2018 seems to not have any data on almonds at all? I'm very confused.
Yeah I am a climatologist so I feel you on finding sources being annoying in regards to specific industry. The ones I’m seeing are showing almonds alone account for 5% of California’s yearly water usage
Almond is leagues better than any carnist scum product. Almond is still one of the more egregious choices ethically no?
Compared to something like oat milk 100%